The Legend of Zelda: The Unknown Soldier
by Lleu
Summary: The great Imprisoning War was a bloody conflict that anyone with passing familiarity of Hyrule's history knows. Though everyone knows Link and Ganondorf, there was others. Nameless soldiers who died by the thousands to protect their land. This is for them


With a sigh, Adon let his heavy pack fall to the floor and began rummaging through it for his blanket.

"What confuses me is why the Gorons were so welcoming," he said. "Last I heard, their leader was rather frosty to Hylian visitors at best."

"Not my problem," his friend Raghen muttered as he carefully removed all sorts of various explosive devices from his pack.

"But it's not a problem," Adon protested. "It's... never mind." He suddenly remembered who exactly he was talking to and set about trying to make the stone bed the Gorons had thoughtfully provided more comfortable.

"Though a problem that does exist is the princess," he continued.

"Don't worry about it," Raghen replied, already stretched out on his own bed, seemingly content with the hard rock beneath him. He was a very odd looking sort of person. His most startling feature were his bright green eyes, one slightly higher than the other. His shoulders were mismatched as well, and his neck stuck out a little farther than it ought to.

"I have to worry about it. That's my job." He had never been comfortable with leaving the castle, and his unease only increased the farther away they traveled. True, Impa had thought it necessary, but...

"Your job is to protect her. Which you're doing by becoming stronger."

Adon had known Raghen long enough that his brusque answers tended not to phase him, but agitated as he was, it was difficult not to snap back.

"Look, I just-"

"Impa's far more competent than all five of us put together. The only reason we're there at all is because she has to sleep. It's going to be a little rough for them while we're gone, but nothing will come up that they can't handle. Besides, who could possibly want her dead? Hyrule is in the best situation ever. Of all time. Everyone loves us. We even have an alliance with the Gerudo. The Gerudo! Trust me, Adon. Nothing important will happen in the two days that we're gone. Now shut up and let me go to sleep."

Adon was a little surprised at the reaction. That was the most Raghen had talked... well, since they met, really. He sighed, conceding defeat and lay down on his blanket, but not before muttering "If she's so safe, then why are we off chasing magic?"

The two travelers were up at dawn the next morning, a late start for them. They were surprised to find that a good number of Gorons were already up and waiting to see them off. One who had gained a taste for Hylian food presented them with a hearty breakfast of fried Dodongo strips. Adon had never had Dodongo before, and it was delicious. He quickly ate all that the Goron would give him. Raghen was more reserved, eating only enough to last until the the top of Death Mountain.

Upon seeing how much Adon enjoyed the Dondongo, the Goron cook invited him back when he was done with his mission.

"We recently got way more Dondongo than I'll ever be able to eat. Take all you want. Maybe you can introduce that princess of yours to it."

Adon smiled to himself at the Goron's naïve understanding of how the Royal Family worked, thanked him for the offer, and set off with Raghen to finish scaling the mountain.

It was slow work. There were several boulders and such in their way that Raghen insisted on blowing up rather than finding a way around. "Faster this way," he insisted. And he took such a long time with each blast, claiming that he had to do it safely and efficiently. ("No, I am not just going to throw a bomb at it and hope the fuse runs out at the right time!")

They eventually reached the top though, and there they sat down for lunch before completing their mission. Raghen munched on his dried jerky in silence while Adon tried to convince him of the wonders of the Temple of Time.

"Well, let's get this over with," Raghen said when he finished. The two of them crossed the plateau looking for anything that resembled an entrance. It turned out to be rather easy to find, as someone had already blasted it wide open.

"Whoever did this should never be allowed to handle bombs again. Ever," Raghen said as he examined the rubble surrounding the entrance. Adon just walked past him, in a hurry to get back to the castle.

He found himself in a large stone hallway, the walls covered in intricate drawings. He slowly moved forward, trying to take it all in. It reminded him of his first visit to the Temple of Time. Except the Temple was clearly the work of man. This was a work of magic.

Through the darkness, two green flames illuminated the end of the passage. As he emerged into a large chamber, it was like stepping into another world. Water cascaded down the walls on all sides in slow motion, touching down gently in a purple pool that never seemed to grow any deeper. The mist from the falls combined with the green flames produced miniature rainbows throughout the cavern. He was tempted to let its spell take him, but he had a job to do.

He knelt on the Triforce symbol in front of the pool and played the song that Impa had taught him. At it's conclusion a lady emerged from the pool, twirling and laughing. She was clothed only in a strange plant. It was like ivy, but more beautiful. Her dark red hair that flowed all the way to her hips looked almost as if it were made of roses.

Her vibrant face turned hard as stone as she saw him and Raghen.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"We need magic," Raghen said.

"You're going to need a lot more than magic at this point," the Great Fairy said. There was a blinding light and Adon was suddenly falling through a void. Before he even had time to be afraid, he hit the ground and rolled. Flames were all about him, and he could barely concentrate for all the screaming.

Somehow, he was back in Castle Town. He heard sounds of battle and spun to see a lone Gerudo warrior cutting down a squad of soldiers. He picked up a fallen comrade's spear and charged her. When she turned to face him he threw a Deku nut and ran his spear through her heart before she could recover.

"I love these things so much," he said to himself.

"Are you Adon?" one of the soldiers asked him, blood running down his face. Adon said he was and the soldier continued. "They said to tell you they used plan 5B."

"5B? How the hell does that make sense?" Raghen asked.

"Just do it," Adon growled and started sprinting to the Temple of Time, while Raghen went elsewhere to set up his explosives.

"I'm a star!" He screamed as he reached the entrance, praying that the passwords hadn't changed while he was away. Fortunately, the doors slowly creaked open and he dashed inside.

"Who chose the running password?" he asked as soon as he was in. Though the monks kept up their eerie song, the Temple was far different than he had ever seen. It was completely empty of worshipers, save for the Royal Family. The Princess's bodyguard, his boss, stood grim faced at the door, her blade extended and ready to cut off his head should he prove to be a foe.

"The princess thought it would be funny," Impa replied, lowering her sword.

"I'm not laughing."

"Where's Raghen?" Impa demanded, changing the subject. She could be as bad as the demolition man when it came to conversation. Then again, this wasn't really the time.

"The castle, of course. Where else would he go for 5B?"

"Did you say 5B?" Impa hissed. "This is 5D!"

"Oh no..." Adon froze, and for the first time in years he was afraid. "I have to stop him."

But Impa grabbed his arm before he could go anywhere. "No. It's too late for that. We need you here. Protect the Princess."

"Silwen-"

"Didn't make it."

Impa drew her sword again and stood ready to guard the door. Adon reluctantly walked across the Temple to his charge.

"Don't worry, Princess. We won't let anything happen to you."

He waited in the Temple for hours, as the city fell apart about them. He tried to comfort the young princess and talked with the rest of the Royal Family, but his attention was always on the door, waiting for the Gerudo to come pouring through it.

Suddenly Impa stirred. "We've waiting long enough Princess. Link is not coming. Not today. We have to get you out of here.

"But- but he doesn't have it yet! How are supposed to win if he doesn't have it?"

"We'll figure that out later," Impa said gruffly, picking up the girl with one hand and putting her on her back.

"Please Sir Knight!" the princess screamed as Impa took her through a secret exit. "Find the boy from the forest. Tell him what happened. Tell him, when he gets it, to come here!" And then she was gone.

Adon now stood alone with the King and Queen.

"We are going to die today, aren't we?" the Queen said.

"I cannot hold off an army, Your Grace.

"Don't worry, my lady. Zelda will be safe," the King replied, placing his hand atop hers.

And then the doors shook. Once, twice, and then they exploded inward. Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo rode in on his monstrous horse.

"You really thought you could fight, Your Grace? You thought you could keep me locked in the desert while all your people get the best land, the best food, just because-"

And then Adon threw a Deku nut at him, but Ganondorf caught it and crushed it in his hand. The King of Thieves laughed.

"I like your style, kid," he said in a low dark voice. "But you cannot hope to cross swords with me." He spurred his horse into a gallop and cut Adon down, leaving him to lie on the cold marble floor, helpless as he slaughtered the King and Queen.

"And the princess..." Ganondorf began, but then he cursed and raced from the building.

Choking on his blood, Adon fumbled for his vial of red potion that Impa had forced all of Zelda's guards to carry. He popped the cork and drank it with a single hand, the other trying to keep his guts from spilling onto the Temple floor. He could feel the skin mending under his hand. It would probably not be enough to save his life, but he had more time than he had before.

The soldier slowly pushed himself to his feet and stumbled out of the temple. The monks kept singing behind him, oblivious.

He staggered through the streets, not really sure where he was trying to go. It hurt too much to think. All he could focus on was the gash all the way across his torso. But he dare not give up. There was something he had to do, if only he could remember what it was.

When walking became too hard he started crawling, dragging himself across the ground as his town burned to the ground around him. In the distance he heard an explosion, and he laughed despite the immense pain it caused. That would be Raghen. Adon was glad he was still alive, but he knew that wouldn't last long. He had probably died in the blast, actually.

Eventually he could go no farther and collapsed in some back alley. A timid black-haired girl came out of her house and offered him some water, but she ran away after he vomited blood on her dress. He had known her once, before Impa had chosen him. She had been the one friendly face in his previous life. He wondered if she ever thought about him.

"Hey!" A tinny female voice disturbed him. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a ball of blue light floating in front of him.

"What happened?" He stared at the light dumbly. Was this some angel? Was he dead? No, he hurt too much to be dead. He heard footsteps. Running. A green clad child stood over him.

"Unngh..." he muttered, suddenly remembering. The green clothes, the fairy... "Are you the boy from the forest?"

The boy nodded, and Adon relaxed, happy that the boy happened to stumble across him. "I- I-" he stuttered, trying to find the strength to speak. "I've finally met you... I- I- I have something to t- tell you..."

The boy leaned in. Funny. His eyes... they looked like the princesses. Calm. Determined.

"Ganondorf, the Gerudo King of Thieves betrayed our king... Zelda's attendant, Impa, sensed danger and escaped from the castle with our princes... I tried to stop Ganondorf's men from chasing them... but..." His voice trailed off as he remembered his failure. He could still hear the Queen screaming as the King's head thumped to the ground, even though Ganondorf had silenced her shortly afterward. He shook his head, willing himself back into the moment. He still had a job to do.

"The princess was... waiting for a boy from the forest... That's you..." Each breath he took was agony, and a rib that had not fully mended poked at him each time his lungs expanded. "She wanted to give something to the boy... If you received it from the princes, hurry... to the Temple of Time..."

His mission complete, Adon closed his eyes one last time and left to join the goddesses.


End file.
